Stunning
by Severa Snape
Summary: Hermione Granger wakes up in unfamiliar surroundings. Where is she? And why?
1. Chapter 1

Hermione Granger woke up disorientated and slightly groggy. In the moonlight shining through the curtains she could make out an unfamiliar bedroom, with the unfamiliar bed she was lying in. The house smelt unfamiliar too. It reminded her of a holiday home. A woody kind of smell. The smell of the sheets and the shirt she was wearing – who's shirt was this? – she knew, but she couldn't quite place it. It made her feel safe though, and the feeling of panic caused by waking up in unknown surroundings lessened a bit.

A loo. She needed a loo. And then she needed to find out where she was and – more importantly – how to get back to her own quarters at the castle. This was definitely not a room in the castle. There was a street outside with dark houses. The street looked eerie. And she was only wearing a men's shirt. And her knickers, she was pleased to notice. She made her way to the loo on wobbly legs and then down the stairs and to the front door. She was stumbling around in the dark when a low voice spoke from out of the shadows. 'What do you think you are doing?'

'Oh! Severus!' They could both hear the relief in het voice. She turned around so fast her knees gave out, but he was quick and before she'd even seen him coming he had an arm around her waist and a hand pressed to her forehead. 'You should be in bed. How are you feeling?'

'I... Severus, where are we? And why are we here?'

'We are at Spinners End. You had a nasty accident. I didn't think you wanted to stay in the hospital wing now that miss Parkinson is running the place.'

'So you took me home?'

'Well... yes. But if you prefer...'

'Thank you, Severus', she said, throwing her arms around his neck and hugging him. And noticing that he was quite shirtless. Were those silk pyjama bottoms whispering against her legs? She quickly let go and staggered a bit again. 'What's wrong with my legs?'

'You shouldn't be standing on them, for one thing', he said, and lifted her up as if she weighed not much more than an elf. 'I'll take you back to bed, and then I'll tell you all about your idiotic heroic tactics.'

It really should feel more awkward, being carried up the stairs by a shirtless Severus Snape, but the unexplained grogginess and the relief of finding herself in a safe place with a man she would trust with her life made her place her head in the hollow of his neck, sigh, and nearly drift off to sleep.

She woke up when he placed her down on the bed. 'Now tell me what happened', she yawned.

'In short: you were walking down the corridor towards Minerva's office and saw Mr. Podwinkle and Mr. Should taking aim at each other. Instead of disarming them, you decided that it would be a good idea to jump between them. They fired their spells at the same time. Apparently, they had just learned how to stun. They both hit you.'

'Two stunners?'

'Two. So go to sleep. We'll talk in the morning.'

'What happened to the boys? They weren't expelled or anything, were they?'

'Sadly not. Minerva didn't think it necessary.'

'Does Minerva know I'm here?'

'No. I abducted you. Of course she knows you're here.'

'Did you tell her about...?'

'I think she already knew. It didn't take a lot of effort to persuade her to let me take you home.'

Hermione sighed again. 'Thank you so much Severus, I really could not stand having Pansy in charge of me.'

'I know.'

And with that, she drifted off to sleep again.


	2. Chapter 2

She woke in the morning from the smell of coffee coming from the kitchen. Still unsteady she made her way to the bathroom, showered and dressed in the robes she found on the chair next to her bed. She carefully climbed down the stairs and walked into the kitchen.

'Good morning Severus, again, thank you so...'

'Sit down. I'll get you some coffee.'

'Coffee would be nice, but then I really should get out of your hair.'

'Nonsense', he said, placing a mug of coffee prepared exactly the way she liked it in front of her. 'You can stay. I promised Minerva I would look after you, or return you to the hospital wing. You choose.'

'I wouldn't want to get in the way of your weekend plans.'

'You aren't. And you should eat something.' He gestured at the breakfast products on the table. 'I was going to go to the market this weekend, read a book or two and maybe brew a little; work on an article I'm writing for _Potions Monthly_. Nothing I can't do with you in the house.'

'You are writing a new article for _Potions Monthly_?! Your last one was so good! What is this one about? Can I see your research?'

'Your questions remind me of somebody that I used to know some ten years ago.'

She blushed.

'I will tell you what it is about and you can see my research, but...'

'But no incessant questions. I know. I will try to control myself. This is exiting!'

And he proceeded to tell her all about his recent discoveries in the potions lab. She did ask questions, but she also made some rather interesting suggestions and he found he really enjoyed sharing his ideas with her.

A couple of hours later Severus noticed Hermione starting to get pale and that her hands were shaking. 'Bedtime for you, I'd say.'

She looked a bit embarrassed. 'I think you are right.'

'You will go to sleep and I will go to the market. Is there anything you need?'

'A toothbrush would be nice, but really Severus, I...'

'Bed', he said in his teacher's voice. And although she hadn't been his student for many years, she couldn't help but follow his orders.


	3. Chapter 3

When she woke up again, it was to the smell of dinner. It smelled rather delicious and she didn't know why it surprised her he could cook. He was a potions master after all. He was used to combining ingredients to perfection.

'It smells divine, Severus', she said, taking a peek into the oven.

'Let's hope it tastes that way as well.'

It did. They took their time enjoying their dinner and then retired to the living room. Severus sat down on the sofa, his book in one hand, his glass of wine in the other. 'Feel free, I know you'd be careful with them.'

She smiled.

'Thank you. First that wonderful dinner, now this. I might never want to leave.'

He let her comment hang and watched her peruse his bookshelves. When she'd made her choice she sat down in the armchair and they both started to read.

After a while Severus noticed Hermione squirming in her seat. 'Are you not comfortable?'

'I'm sorry. I'm distracting you. My leg keeps falling asleep.'

'I know. I hate that chair, so I'm not swapping with you, but the couch is big enough and you could stretch your leg out.'

She got up, wobbled, and crashed rather unladylike into the couch and Severus.

'Ouch! Sorry!' she said.

He placed their books on the side table, next to their glasses of wine and hoisted her up.

'No harm done.'

He had pulled her up by her upper arms and now she was leaning against him, instead of sitting down on the other side of the couch. 'Here's your book.' He handed it back to her. It felt good having her so close to him, so he decided to stretch his arm out over the back of the couch and see what she would do. She took the hint well. She curled up against him and they returned to their wine and their books. Another hour went by before Severus felt Hermione getting heavier against him. He looked down and, sure enough, she had fallen asleep again. He pried her book away from her, freed himself and stooped down to carry her up the stairs again. She mumbled something unintelligent against his neck. He thought it was rather nice.


	4. Chapter 4

Whimpering sounds woke her from her dreams. They were nice dreams. She couldn't quite remember, but they were something having to do with Severus. Severus! Was he the one making those sounds? Was he in pain? As quickly as she could she made her way to the door she knew was leading to Severus' bedroom. She noticed she was wearing his shirt again, but didn't remember putting it on. Or going to bed for that matter.

'Severus?' she slowly opened the door.

'Severus, are you alright?'

He had kicked off his blankets and was whimpering into his pillow. She sat down on the edge of the bed and placed a soft hand on his shoulder. He felt clammy.

'Severus, tell me what's wrong?'

He turned towards her and hugged his pillow tighter. He was still asleep!

'Shh, Severus,' she said, stroking his sweaty hair away from his face, 'it's alright. You are safe in your bed. Nothing bad is happening. Come on, wake up, you can do it.'

He suddenly grabbed her hand from his forehead and twisted her arm, so that she was lying half on, half off the bed. 'Ouch!'

He woke with a start. 'What?! Hermione! I'm sorry!' He let go of her hand and she slid onto the floor. She scrambled up and sat down on the edge of the bed again. He was still breathing hard from whatever it was he'd just faced.

'Don't worry about it, that must have been quite the dream', she said, stretching her hand out again and stroking his cheek.

He closed his eyes.

'Oh! Severus! Was it one of THOSE dreams?! The ones you told me about after the war? Do you still have them?' and she hugged him. He nodded into her hair, then pushed her away.

'I'm fine. I'm sorry I woke you.'

'Really, Severus! I told you years ago that you should talk about them. I still can't face Pansy after she watched Bellatrix torture me at Malfoy Manor, being Draco's girlfriend at the time, doing absolutely nothing to help me. Now I'm all for second chances and I respect Minerva's decision to hire her, but for me... It's just... You know... And for you to still have those dreams and keeping it to yourself, tell me what...'

'What is it exactly that Bellatrix did to you? You never told me.'

Hermione hesitated for a minute, then unbuttoned the first three buttons of the shirt she was wearing and shoved it to the side. In the moonlight he could make out the silver lines of what must have been very nasty wounds running from her collarbone to her shoulder and then down. He followed the lines disappearing into the shirt and looked up, straight into her eyes. They looked defiant.

'I'm so sorry', he said, stretching his arm out and softly tracing the scars with his fingertips. 'I'm so sorry that happened to you.' The hand that touched the scars suddenly grabbed her upper arm en twisted her, so that she was lying next to him on the bed. 'So sorry.' And he bent down over her, and softly, ever so softly, placed a kiss on her collarbone. He looked up into her eyes and saw that they had softened. He bent down again and starting tracing kisses from her collarbone, to her shoulder, to the top of her breast. Her hand came up and twisted in his hair. 'What was the dream about, Severus?'

He sighed, placed a last lingering kiss, covered them both with the blankets from the floor and rested his head on her chest. 'I had just joined the Dark Lord...' And while her fingers massaged his scalp, he retold his dream.


	5. Chapter 5

Hermione woke from the sound of church bells in the distance. Ten o'clock already! She hadn't slept so late in a long time. Severus was curled around her from behind, she felt wonderfully warm and safe, and slightly nervous about the awkwardness that would surely arise when he woke.

It didn't though.

She felt Severus stretch, kiss her shoulder and whisper 'I haven't slept that well in a long time.' Then he got out of the bed and left the room. When she saw him again he was pouring coffee and slicing a pear. 'I thought we might work on some of the ideas for the article we came up with yesterday', he said.

'Oh', she hesitated. She wondered if she was disappointed he didn't mention their intimate night, or that she was relieved she didn't have to put a name to it just yet. 'Yes, that would be interesting', she decided.

And so it was that they spent another perfect day together.

Around four Hermione made her way upstairs to rest again. The messy looking bed reminded her of the way she'd left it last night and hadn't returned to it. As if she needed reminding. It was all she thought about. She didn't want to return to this bed, she wanted to be with Severus. And if she was completely honest with herself, she'd known she wanted to be with Severus for quite some time now. Her nervousness the first time he'd asked her if she wanted to join him for a glass of wine in his chambers, her happiness when he'd said yes when she'd asked him if he wanted to accompany her to Hogsmeade, the fluttering in her stomach if she saw him striding down the hall. There was no denying it anymore: she was smitten. But what about his feelings? He was not a man with many friends, so not much to compare, but she thought he treated her differently than Minerva or Filius. Kinder. He certainly had been wonderful this weekend.


	6. Chapter 6

When she came down again another wonderful dinner was waiting for her.

'You are spoiling me', she said.

'Maybe', he replied softly.

They ate mostly in silence.

After dinner they retired to the living room again, but this time Hermione joined Severus on the couch straight away. They read for a while and then she asked 'What happens tomorrow, Severus?'

'Ah, tomorrow there will be dunderheads to be taught again. Not by you though.'

'I'm perfectly capable of teaching!'

'Minerva doesn't think so. She knows you are younger than her and that you 'only' took two stunners, yet she knows how it feels. She and Filius are taking over your classes for the week. You can entertain the masses again next week.'

'Entertain the masses?! Bestow wisdom you mean!'

'Shh,' he whispered in her ear, 'don't get so worked up. Just enjoy the extra free time. Before you know it, you'll be up to your neck in work again.'

'Hmm', she huffed.

They sat in silence for another while, neither returning to their books.

'I wish you didn't have to work either', she said. 'I know this weekend was just so I could recover, but I really enjoyed being with you.'

'I don't just take home any stunned colleague, you know', his low voice offered.

She turned her head to look at him. 'I was hoping you would say that.'

They looked into each others eyes.

'Just the stunning ones', he whispered. And then he kissed her.

His lips were so soft upon her own, so soft, she thought she might be dreaming. But then he grabbed her and pulled her on top of him and she knew she wasn't dreaming, because no dream could feel this good. His hands ghosted across her back and his lips kept suckling on hers, on her ear, on her neck, and a fire started burning deep within her.


	7. Chapter 7

They kissed for what seemed like hours.

'Will you come to bed with me again?' he asked when the clock struck eleven.

'Hmm', she replied, kissing the scars on his neck.

And for the third time in three days he carried her up the stairs, placed her on a bed and performed a switching charm on her, so she was wearing his shirt once more. It took him only a minute to join her, by which time she had stretched her arms out to him to receive him.

'Why have you switched our clothes?' she whispered.

'I thought it would be more comfortable,' he said, kissing from the palm of her hand up her arm.

'Don't you think we would be even more comfortable with no clothes?'

He looked up at her. 'I was going to be a gentleman.'

'But you already were a gentleman yesterday,' she smiled.

'Ah yes,' he said, moving to the neckline of her shirt, 'when you so boldly showed me this.' And he started kissing down her scar again, this time opening the shirt as he went along. He didn't stop when he reached the end of the scar, but kept moving down, over her breast, suckling her nipple, down to the underside of her breast, her bellybutton and the elastic of her knickers. The shirt was fully open by now and she shrugged it of her shoulders.

When she reached for his pants he moved further down, taking her knickers with him. He made his way up her legs again kissing her ankle, her shins, her knees, her thighs and then kissing her where no man had ever kissed her before. 'Oh!' she exclaimed, 'Severus, you don't have to...'

'Oh, but I want to', he murmured. And it felt so good, so right, so wonderful, that all she could do was fist her hands in the blankets and feel. Feel each lick of his tongue, each nibble of his teeth, each nudge of his nose until the feeling became too much and she could not control the shaking of her body or the sounds that she made.


	8. Chapter 8

When she opened her eyes again he was lying next to her. She turned to him and kissed him. 'I never knew that could feel so wonderful. You read, but...'

He quirked an eyebrow. 'You read?'

'Well...' She blushed.

'Maybe you should share your reading material one day...'

'Hmm.' She buried her head in his neck again.

He hugged her.

After a while her hands started wandering down his back and into his pants, squeezing his buttocks. 'Off,' she said, 'I want these off.' Pushing down his pants as far as she could.

'Hermione, are you sure? We could still...,' he said, lifting her chin to look into her eyes again. But her hand had found his penis and he groaned before he could finish his sentence.

'Very sure,' she said, stroking him.

'Well then, who am I to deny you?' And he rolled her on top of him.

She shifted about a little until she had him just where she wanted him. Slowly she sank down, until he filled her completely. He kissed her. 'You look stunning,' he said, granting her a rare smile. She smiled back and started slowly rocking back an forth. He guided her with a hand on her hip, using the other to touch and stroke her wherever he liked.

Hours later they drifted off to sleep.


	9. Chapter 9

The bed was cold when she woke up and she feared he'd had second thoughts and left her. She turned around and buried her head in his pillow, smelling his scent. His scent that was all over her, she was sure. When she looked up again, determined to get up and get back to the castle with as much dignity as she could muster, she noticed something she'd missed when she'd turned around. On the nightstand was a cup of coffee under a stasis, and next to it was a note. It read: _'Stay. I'll be home at five. Severus.' _

She let out a rather undignified whoop.


End file.
